


Where do we go from here

by Castilian



Series: More than friends [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 14:07:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18779812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castilian/pseuds/Castilian
Summary: Gwaine is not sure, but maybe this thing between Arthur and him could stand a chance.





	Where do we go from here

Two thousand words completed since morning and Gwaine was done. He had been going on at it since a stroke of inspiration had forced him to leave the soft embrace of his bed. But now that the flow of words had stopped, Gwaine felt as blocked as he had been for the last days.

It was useless to keep trying now, Gwaine knew it from past experience. Any word written from that moment would only be deleted the next day. And that only added to Gwaine doubts about his talent as a writer.

Just as Gwaine was about to switch the computer off, a hand caressed his hair. He had not heard the other man waking up and was startled by the sudden greeting, afraid that his work had been discovered. For none of his friends knew nothing about his attempt at writing a novel.

“You woke early,” said Arthur, “and are naked. What were you doing naked in front of your laptop? Watching porn?”

Gwaine laughed at Arthur’s scandalized expression. “Maybe. And maybe you are overly dressed.” 

Arthur. His other secret. Gwaine pondered how his life had become so secretive. Just some weeks ago he had been like an open book. And now, he was sneaking just to write some words and sneaking Arthur around.

“Where’s my breakfast?”

Arthur still grated on Gwaine’s nerves. But Arthur also intrigued him. First, it was the soup kitchen, where Arthur volunteered two days a week. That could be understandable: many rich people want to feel they are doing something for the less fortunate. But then Gwaine learned that Arthur also entertained kids at the hospital. Last summer he had helped to build homes for the homeless. And who knows what else, because Arthur never talked about any of it.

“Go on, make me some breakfast.”  
The man was still infuriating. But then, he wouldn’t be Arthur otherwise.

“Or you could do it yourself. You have hands too, you know?”

Gwaine couldn’t help but laugh at Arthur’s scandalized expression.

“I’m your guest.”

Apparently, this was Gwaine’s life now. Two months ago he had been a happy-to-go kind of guy without a care in the world. These days he was a writer in the making and Arthur’s personal entertainer, for lack of a better word. 

But what were they exactly?

They couldn’t be friends with benefits, because they had been hardly friends before. And Gwaine refused to use the word “boyfriends”. Maybe they were lovers? Though they were too much casual for that. Or were they each other’s booty call? 

What a conundrum, Gwaine thought. And all thanks to a match of darts.

It all had started some weeks after the night Gwaine and Merlin had picked Arthur from the kitchen soup. Gwaine was still reconciling himself with the idea that Arthur could be a decent being. Like most Friday nights, they had met at the pub for drinking and fun.

As a rule, Gwaine avoided being left alone with Arthur. But that night Lance and Gwen were too busy making eyes at each other, Merlin was useless at darts (or anything physical, really), Percy didn’t like competitions of any sort, Leon had retired early and for some reason, the others had not appeared. 

That left just Arthur to accept Gwaine’s challenge. The prat had gone and accepted, and the rest could be history. Maybe, someday. 

Their friends had left the pub one by one (because Gwen and Lance could count as “one”). 

“Well, I have to wake up early tomorrow,” Arthur had said. “You coming?” The easy (and logical) answer would have been “no”. But Gwaine’s mouth had gone and said “yes.”

Since then, Gwaine had seen Arthur a total of twenty-three times. Fifteen of those times had been with at least one of their friends. And of those fifteen, they have managed to sneak behind their backs twelve times.

No one had a clue about their relationship. But Gwaine had started to think that that is going to change very soon.


End file.
